Theories of Everyday

In Theories of the Everyday, the duo formed by Michiko Ogawa andManuel Pessoa de Lima, explore intersections between quotidian and art. Informed by the work of Allan Kaprow - an artist dealing with the blurring of the borders between Art and life - Theories of the Everyday seeks to revisit some of his scores; particularly his Time Pieces, where, for example, a couple is asked to measure and record on tape each other's breathing and pulse after climbing a set of stairs. Many of his activities involved cassette tape documentation, however in exhibitions, those tapes were rarely displayed, being favored by images (photographs, written scores, etc). In this project, we'll give more attention to the sonic aspect. Theories of the Everyday is then a performance built upon systematic recordings of quotidian activities, along the manufacturing of a card game containing instructions to be carried on the live act. For Kaprow the idea of play (like in a game) replaces the idea of conventional Art. In this sense, the card game allows for an 'un-artistic' situation, where performers simply play a game, enabling chance operations. The cards are commands where performers transit between various materials, like the recordings made that same day, video fragments, light-change dispositions, and lecture excerpts about the work of Allan Kaprow.